ABSTRACT
Our analysis of this first decade of NATO-Russia relations has shown to what extent cooperation between these two parties was not to be taken for granted – to the contrary, it required a great deal of adjusting and concessions on both sides to become viable. And yet, this analysis further confirmed the assumption that cooperation between NATO and Russia is not only possible but can even meet the individual interests of both. At this stage, the question is thus no longer to prove the utility and the necessity of such cooperation, but to identify the model based on which it could best develop. NATO already offers one model of cooperation in the form of a collective defence and security alliance. However, as we will demonstrate in the forthcoming chapter, collective defence and security arrangements imply a number of conditions, including membership of the concerned institution, that cannot apply, at least at this stage, to Russia’s case. In this context, it is necessary to seek other cooperation models, and possibly find the one that would best apply to NATO and Russia.
